


the sea shall free me

by NotSummer



Series: AU One-shots [15]
Category: Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Mermaid, Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, I Can't Believe I Wrote This, Let me be clear, My First Smut, Still, also, i cant believe there isnt a mermaid au tag, i guess?, krell is the asshole, that relationship tag, tho i guess thats obvious
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-20
Updated: 2018-01-20
Packaged: 2019-03-07 06:31:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13428837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NotSummer/pseuds/NotSummer
Summary: Miyala's a Marine Biologist who's been strictly told she's not allowed to go in the water by the locals. She diverts herself to the libraries and to the history books, trying to track the myths of the mer. Little does she know they'll come to her.





	the sea shall free me

**Author's Note:**

> i only used krell because i'm not actually capable of creating a nasty abusive OC. don't worry, he's gets what's coming to him

It was high tide when Miyala first made her way down to the shoreline. She knew not to go in the water, knew not to even put a toe in. She was perfectly safe, and she hauled her pack with her books and everything over her shoulder, carefully making her way down one of the steep cliffs that lined the ocean to an outcropping. The stone was large, flat, and she sat, spreading her stacks of flimsi out.

She had historical records of the old colony, ones that have taken her ages to find, and she had records of sightings of the monsters in the deep. She may have been a biologist, but it had been a sneaking dream of hers to figure out the truth: if these cryptids were real, or there was something else making the waters so dangerous.

She expected the search for the truth to be long and arduous. She didn’t quite expect it to come to her. She was reaching for a paper on the lost capital Tipoca, eye witness accounts of when it disappeared into the sea centuries ago when she became aware she wasn’t alone.

There was a man lying on the rock, except- everything from his torso down was the sleek muscular tail of one of the nexu sharks that’s rumored to hunt in these seas. She took a deep breath, fear stealing her voice, and she pushed herself backwards, but her back was already nearly shoved up against the cliffside.

He grinned at her. “Don’t worry, hon. You’re not in our territory, and as long as you don’t touch the water, I won’t hurt you.”

“That’s not reassuring,” she stammered out, eyeing the ocean surrounding her. “What if you decide to throw me in?”

His grin turned into a scowl. “I would never. That’s. That’s wrong.” His gaze fixes on her. “We do have a code of honor, landwalker.”

She nodded at him, taking a deep breath. “So I don’t need to run?”

Something softened in his eyes. “No. You’re perfectly safe. And my name is Jesse, in case you were wondering.” He pulled himself higher onto the rock, where he could lean over her papers. He scanned the texts before he tapped on of them. “This is wrong.”

She hesitated, but crawled over to see which passage he was looking at.  “This one,” he said. “The labs weren’t evacuated.” There was a thread of dark satisfaction in his voice, and Miyala very carefully did not think about what that implied.

“So these reports of the lab ships, crashing over the continent. They’re made up?” At his nod, she sat back, huffing. “Then we’ve spent centuries looking in the wrong direction. We thought maybe those labs held the clue to why a colony disappeared.”

“Your people… do they want to restart the experiments?” He sounded… scared, and she jerked her head up to meet his gaze. What could the mer possibly fear?

For a second she forgot she was conversing with a myth, and she leaned to her left to bump her shoulder into his and wrap an arm around him. “No! I mean. I don’t think so. The common idea is that those labs might have been valuable, or held the key to why the colony was destroyed. Since no one really knows.” His shoulders loosened, and she blanched, suddenly, jerking her arm back to her chest. “Sorry.”

“You’re not local, are you? You don’t seem to hate the ocean, or us.” He added the last part quietly, his gaze flicking back to the books.

“No,” she laughed. “Did the lekku give it away?” He rolled his eyes, but she continued, “Technically, I’m a marine biologist, but I did minor in history. And then there was a whole ocean on this planet that had… nothing. No information or anything. And then when I got here, I was told very firmly not to go into the water, so I went back to the history books.”

He wiggled his eyebrows at her. “Here to study my anatomy?”

She giggled, clapping her hands over her mouth. “No! I mean. I have a boyfriend,” she finished lamely, but her mood darkened at the thought of him. Which was wrong. She loved her boyfriend, she just needed… to be away.

He didn’t say anything about her mood change, his tail slapping the rocks as he frowned. “Wait here,” he said, finally, flopping backwards until he could dive back into the water. He made hardly a splash as he slid into the water, immediately disappearing from sight.

She turned herself back to her books while she waited, flipping through the apparently false accounts of eyewitnesses before sitting back. She closed her eyes as the sea breeze drifted over her skin, letting the rays of the sun warm her. She heard a splash, and she opened her eyes to see Jesse on the edge of the rock, still hanging within the water. There was a sly look on his face, and he placed a few mollusks down on the rock in front of him. She scrambled over, sitting on the edge of the rock, her hands hovering over the samples.

“Are these safe to touch?”

He nodded, but didn’t pull himself onto the rock like he had before. She opened her mouth to ask, but the mischief in his eyes brightened, and his tail kicked up. Ocean water splashed all over her, and a very confused fish flopped on the rock next to her. She shrieked, backpedalling, before laughing, and he finally hauled himself up. “They’re fine. I wouldn't have grabbed anything venomous.” He eyed the fish flopping around. “That, though, is.”

“It didn’t scratch you, did it?” Her eyes flicked over his tail, which was… “Did…. can you… change your tail?”

“Yeah. I mean, we can look human if we want, tail isn’t much different.”

One moment he had a dolphin like tail, and the next, he looked like any other human, sitting cross legged next to her. Her jaw dropped, but she just shook her head, and began asking questions about the mollusks he brought back. She barely noticed the sun begin to set in the sky until her comm chirped. Picking it up, she grimaced slightly at the name before answering.

“Pong.”

“Miyala! Where have you been?” Her boyfriend frowned at her through the comm. “I was worried about you. You know not to sneak off! You should have been with me.”

“I just wanted to see the ocean,” she protested.

He gave her a long look, and said only, “It’s too dangerous. Stay in the libraries. I don’t want to spend my day worrying about whether or not you’re getting into trouble. I’m just looking out for you.”

She lowered her eyes. She’d fucked up, she knew it. “I… I know.”

Pong didn’t answer, ending the call and she winced. She was going to be in for it later-but. She shouldn’t have worried him.

“He’s controlling,” Jesse said flatly, glaring at her comm.

“No, he’s not,” Miyala snapped back. “He was just worried- and I shouldn’t have run off. It’s my own fault anyway.” She started to shove her books into her bag, trying not to consider how peaceful the day had been, how lovely it had been to have someone who was genuinely interested in her profession.

Pong loved her, he was just worried about her, and that made him angry. No big deal.

Right?

* * *

 

Try as she might, she couldn’t stop thinking about her day on the cliffside. The locals had all berated her for going near the ocean. Pong must have accidentally mentioned it or something. So she stayed in the confines of the library, and looked through books she was now aware were wrong, and she tried to convince herself to stay away from the ocean.

But she still heard the siren’s call, and one night, she snuck over to the cliffs. Lit only by the moonlight, the crashing of the waves calmed her, letting her worries dissipate. She let her eyes close, enjoying the chill of the air.

Something bumped her shoulder, and her eyes flew open. She turned to see Jesse leaning against the rock face with her. His tail this time was blue and white, with spines and long fins appearing off it.

“I was wondering if I was going to see you again,” he said quietly. His spines flexed and extended, swishing slowly through the air.

“I can’t stay away from the ocean forever,” she said quietly. She kept her gaze on the crests of incoming waves, not wanting to see recrimination on his face.

“Are you… happy?” She could guess what answer he wanted, and she couldn’t give it to him.

“I’m doing fine,” she said.

He let the lie slide, only asking, “So, do you want to hear about the nocturnal species?”

She couldn’t stop the grin that spread over her face, and he pulled her over to the side of the rock. He dived in, popping back out to hand her a new species she had yet to record and tell her what he and his brothers knew about it.

Eventually, her eyes could stay open no longer, and she yawned, falling asleep on the rock, sprawling over the smooth surface. She woke to the first rays of the morning light, filtering through the massive sweeping fin spread over her to shield her from the elements. It waved slightly in the air, and she twisted to see Jesse propping himself up on his elbows as he watched the horizon.

He turned as she shifted under his fin, watching her. His fin slapped back against his tail, and she pulled herself up to watch the sunrise next to him, mimicking his posture. Eventually she said quietly, “I need to head back.”

“You could always stay here,” Jesse said, the words seeming to surprise him even as he spoke them. He dipped his head, looking down into the ocean before turning on his side to curl towards her. “Become one of us.”

“That’s possible?” Her voice was quiet, hardly even a whisper. Her gaze flitted over the ocean, but then she closed her eyes. “I can’t.” She sat up, unable to look at him. “I… I have to go back.” She stood, crossing her arms in front of herself. Scales scraped across the rockface, and then he was standing on two legs next to her.

His hand settled on the small of her back as he stood to her side. She turned her head away, closing her eyes. She felt at peace here in a way she hadn’t in years, not since… She slammed the door on that line of thought.

His hand dropped from her back, and she heard him back away. Water splashed, and she was left alone. She turned back to the horizon, but there was nothing.

* * *

 

She was nursing several bruises on her arm, sipping tea at a cafe when someone sat down across from her. He was wearing sunglasses and a deep blue shirt, and for a heartbeat she didn’t recognize him. “Jesse?”

“You never call, you never write,” he deadpanned. He grinned at her, and flagged the waiter down to order a black coffee.

The entire moment was surreal, considering she was used to seeing him with massive fins and a tail. And shirtless. Her cheeks darkened, and she turned her head away slightly. “I… didn’t expect to see you here.”

“Are you alright?” The question was abrupt, completely disregarding her own statement, and she shrank back. He looked down. “Sorry. That was- Miyala. Are you okay?” He softened his statement, and her hand unconsciously flew towards her opposite bicep. Her left arm was aching where Pong had grabbed her.

“It was just an accident,” she said. “I’ll be fine.”

He was silent, looking at her from beneath the sunglasses, but he let it go. “Those labs. If…. If you really want, I can get you to the ruins of the old colony. If you promise nothing that happened in those labs will ever happen again.”

She leaned forward. “If I think bringing back any information will hurt anyone, I’ll take it to my grave. I promise.”

“That’s what we wanted to hear,” Jesse said. “What days would work best for you? It’s at least a week long trip.”

“Oh.” Her shoulder hunched. “I can’t go then.”

“You’ve only been researching for _weeks_ , if you’re the sort of person I think you are. And what, suddenly you can’t pursue your own research?”

“My boyfriend…” She trailed off. What was there to say? “He’d worry. I don’t need to make him worry.”

“Seems like he’s more your controller than your boyfriend,” he muttered. Probably wasn’t meant to be overheard, but she heard it.

“I… I’ve been with him for two years. We’re fine,” she said. “We’re fine.”

He stood, anger in every line of his body. “You’re _not_ fine, Miyala.” He forced himself to relax before adding, softly, “The ocean waits.”

* * *

 

Miyala packed her bags into her speeder. It was, at least, hers.

“What are you doing?”

She felt fear rip through her body, and she closed her eyes before turning back to her boyfriend. She had been looking for reasons to prove Jesse wrong, but the more she opened her eyes, the more she wanted to run. “I’m heading to the ocean,” she stammered out.

“You’re what, going to kill yourself? No one goes out there.” He waved his hands dismissively before turning back to her. He pasted a kind smile on, but now that she was looking, she could see the malice around him.

Her fingers tightened on the straps. “I have a lead. It’s too important to pass up. I need to know.”

“This information isn’t worth your life. What would I do without you? I need you here. With me.”

She nearly unpacked her bags. But-. “I have to go,” she said, dodging away from him and into the speeder, pressing her foot to the accelerator.

Pong had no idea where the outcropping was, and she headed there, hiding her speeder in the trees. She slipped down the cliffside, where she stood alone on the rock face. She didn’t exactly have a way to contact her friend, so she sat on the edge and waited.

She didn’t have long to wait before a shadow darted through the water and burst out, leaping onto the rockface. “You’re here,” Jesse said, a delighted grin on his face as he rolled over on his back to look up at her.

“I am,” she confirmed, a smile rising unbidden to her face. He smiled up at her, his hand reaching to wrap around hers.

“It’s good to see you.”

She nodded, and she looked down, closing her eyes. “You… you were right. About Pong. I didn’t want. Didn’t want to believe it. Because that meant-.” She broke off, pressing her eyes even tighter as she hunched, trying to control the sobs. His arms wrapped around her shoulders as he moved to embrace her, her back plastered against his chest. “Because that meant I’ve let him… let him.” She cut herself off again. “I should have known, I should have been stronger, I-. This was my fault, I should have-.”

“It's not your fault.” His voice was firm. “And you’re here now.”

She opened her eyes, leaning her head back against his shoulder. “Maybe.”

He let go of her, shifting so he was on the edge of the rock. “Ready to swim?”

She brushed the last tears away. “Don’t I need gear? Or...a suit?”

He smirked. “No, we have ways around that.” He tipped backwards, the complete opposite of his graceful dives previous, sending water splashing all over. “Miyala. Do you trust me?”

Did she trust a myth known for drowning people to protect her in the water? She did, actually. Miyala moved to the edge, about to propel herself into the water when she paused. Clearly recent events had taught her that whom she trusted was not a good indicator, and she paused, her foot hovering over the water.

Perhaps the question should be, does she trust herself?

She stared down at the water. She wanted to think she could trust herself. But she didn’t know if she could. She had trusted herself earlier, and for two years… well. It was over.

She thought again about the legends of the merfolk. Her eyes met Jesse’s where he waited patiently for her, treading water.

Every bone in her body screamed for her to turn back.

She jumped.

Surfacing, she kicked out, treading water as currents slid past her legs. She had missed the ocean. Scales rubbed up against her as Jesse pulled her close. “The way… It’s unorthodox. And it’s not permanent.” His hand cupped her cheek. “You’ll be one of us. Tail. Fins. Gills. Resistance to pressure. We can undo it once we’re done visiting the ruins.”

“I… I trust you,” she said firmly, squashing her own doubts.

He nodded. “Take a deep breath, then. It has to be underwater.” He slipped under the water, and she followed, keeping her eyes open so she could see. Suddenly Jesse was right in front of her, and she felt his tail wrap around her legs, keeping her still and secured before he leaned forward, kissing her.

His arms wrapped around her shoulders, keeping her close, and briefly she wondered if she had been a fool all along. Agony ripped through her lower half and her neck, and she fell unconscious, the ocean around her fading into darkness.

* * *

 

When her eyes opened, it was to Jesse with his long tail still wrapped around… a tail of her own. Her head was pillowed on his shoulder as they drifted in the currents, and she realized she was breathing. Breathing water. Through gills. She looked around, and as he realized she was awake, he released her.

She ran her hands down her tail, which was much more flexible than she had imagined. It had flukes like a whales, and the skin was soft, rubbery. It took her a bit to get her bearings, pumping her tail up and down, trying to direct herself.

The movements were much more powerful than she anticipated, and her shoulder slammed into the bottom. Dazed, she spun slowly on the seafloor, sending schools of colorful fish sprinting away.

His laughter echoes through the water as clearly as if they were on air, and he shifted, his tail now matching hers. “Basilosaurus,” he said. “Big predatory whales. They won’t bother us, though. None of the animals will, actually.”

He wasn’t going to deflect so easily. “You kissed me.”

“Yes?” He looked uncomfortable, but he plowed on, his face turning redder until it nearly matched her own skintone. “Normally the only people that join us are… lovers? Mates? Not married, exactly, since we don’t have marriage as you landwalkers do, but..” He spread his hands. “If there was another way to get you fins, it was lost. It’ll be the same thing to return you to being Twi’lek.”

“Oh,” she said.

“Don’t overthink it,” he said dryly.

She glared up at him, but returned her gaze to her tail, trying to figure out how to swim. He drifted lazily in circles around her, and she watched his movements, copying them, until they were both racing over the sea floor. She followed him, mimicking his movements until she felt she had a good grasp on how to swim.

He slowed, and they swam in tandem for a while, heading for a rise she could see in the distance. It slowly came into focus as a coral reef, and she gasped in wonder as the colors of the fish and the sponges and the corals became brighter and brighter. Flapping her tail harder, she sped up so she could drift above the reef, looking down and watching the shoals dart through crevices. A shark was meandering through, but it ignored them as it searched for its own prey. “This is amazing! There are so many species I’ve never seen!”

She stopped, hovering closer to the reef to watcha shrimp and a fish carving out a home together. “Jesse! Symbiotic relationships! Look!” Her joy was infectious, and Jesse twirled in lazy circles, smiling as she darted around one corner of the reef to the other until she raced back to him, colliding when she failed to stop in time.

“Easy Ala. I think you need to learn how to brake.” He kept an arm around her shoulders, keeping her close after she bounced off him.

She tilted her head side to side. “Maybe? But this reef is amazing!” She twisted, fixing her eyes once more on the reef, before swirling back to him. “Thank you, Jesse.”

His eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled down at her, and this close, she could see all the rainbow flecks hidden within the amber of his eyes. She grinned up at her friend, her delight bubbling out of her in laughter and enthusiastic twirls.

She wanted to stay here forever.

“Alright, we need to keep moving,” Jesse said. “We’re headed north, along the coast, and then we’ll dart to the west where the ruins are.”

She looked up at his figure, silhouetted by the sun, and glided after him. She felt clumsy in comparison: her turns went wide, she flailed with her hands, and while she got where she needed to, there was a lot of overcorrection and flailing. They traveled along the sea bed, their tails stirring up sediment. She looked behind her, and then saw two fish attached to her tail. “Jesse,” she called nervously, “What are those?”

“Those are just remora. They won’t hurt you, they’re just catching a ride.”

With his reassurance, she eyed the little fish with far less trepidation and a lot more interest before returning to their journey.

“We’re near to the kelp forests,” he said, stopping to look at her. “We’ll spend the night there. It’s safer than open waters.”

“Safer? But I thought you said animals don’t bother you?” A flap of her tail brought her closer, and she bit her lip nervously.

He paused, looking around. “Not here. And it’s not animals I’m worried about.” His gaze darted nervously towards the deeper waters, and he tugged on her arm. “C’mon.” Several meters from the kelp forests, she stopped, treading above a sand dune, and looking back. She hadn’t realized how far they had travelled.

“ALA, MOVE!” His shout took her by surprise, and she went still for several heartbeats before darting towards him and into the kelp forests in time to watch the sand dune move, a massive tentacle shaking the sand off and swiping through the water where she had just been. Her jaw dropped, and he pulled her deeper into the kelp forests, finding a small den, pushing her into it before him.

“What,” she said, staring up at him nervously, “what was that?”

He stared out the entrance of the den, watching. Eventually he turned back to her. “That was Sidious. I believe you lost call him Kraken.” She shivered, and he floated closer, wrapping his hands around her shoulders. “Keep close, alright?”

She nodded, and he settled down on the masses of plant fibers on the bottom of the den. “We’ll be fine. Nothing in these seas is dangerous if you know how to handle it.” He held out and arm to her, and she curled up next to him. “Get some rest. The journey is long, and tomorrow, we hunt.”

* * *

 

She woke to shouting outside the den, and she pushed herself off the kelp, squeezing out the entrance to see Jesse rolling his eyes at two other merfolk. Both shared his face, but one was covered in deep blue stripes, and the other had short curly hair that bobbed along in the current. Jesse turned to nod at her, and the one with the blue lines rolled his eyes. “Well, we know she’s not one of us.”

“Was it the red?” She yawned, the current slowly ensuring she drifted into a plant, at which she scowled.

“No,” actually, Goatee said, “It was the shirt.”

She looked down, and blinked at the fabric she wore, rippling in the water. “What’s wrong with my shirt?”

“Merfolk don’t exactly wear clothes, miss,” Blue Stripes snickered.

She blinked. “Oh.”

“Hardcase. Fives. Don’t harass her.” Jesse whacked them both with his tail, and his brothers rolled their eyes.

“It’s been decades since any new person came down with us, though,” Fives pointed out. “You had to realize we’d be curious.”

“She with you,” Hardcase asked, looking at her. Miyala felt like she was being judged, and she twisted her hands in her lap, nervous.

“Only as a friend,” Jesse answered, and Miyala realized she’d probably missed some context.

The other two shrugged, and having seemingly fulfilled their curiosity, darted off.

“We’re not exactly friendly to outsiders,” Jesse admitted.

“I haven’t been drowned yet,” she answered absently, her mind drifting as she watched the kelp forests come alive in the morning light. She ran a finger over a leaf, and a fish darted out from under it.

“Do you really think we’d drown you?” The question was quiet, and she barely heard it, but she turned to see him looking hurt, still floating right outside the den. Slowly, carefully, he swam up to her, cupping her cheek with one hand. “I would never hurt you,” he vowed, his eyes burning with an intensity that draws Miyala in.

She looked down, shifting her flukes, and stammered out, “I, I know.” She watched the sediment she disturbed resettle, trying not to look at him. His thumb moved in gentle strokes along her cheekbone. “I know,” she whispered, finally looking up at him.

His hand dropped, and he pushed backwards, breaking the moment. “We should go.”

He twisted, and with a few strokes of his tail, he was gliding between the kelp fronds. She pushed after him, keeping up for the most part, but she overestimated her turning ability and flailed as kelp wrapped around her and trapped her, her right arm pinned to the side.

He doubled back, and she saw him laugh, drifting down closer to her. “Ala.” He shook his head at her, a fond smile on his face.

She thrashed, trying to get free, but the kelp fronds only tightened, and she stopped moving, scowling at the leafy plants. She felt his hands over her tail as he started to untangle the fronds wrapped around her flukes, making his way up her tail to pull apart the various plants. Eventually, she was freed. He runs a hand over her flukes, smirking at her before making his way back through the kelp, albeit slower and keeping an eye on her.

He paused at the edge of the kelp forests. There was only open water before them, and while he knew the ocean, Miyala didn’t. She floated next to him, watching his gaze survey the open landscape before darting out.

They were going straight, so he poured on the speed, and so did she. He kept an eye on her, making sure he’s not going too fast for her, but she kept up, and they only slowed as they approached another reef.

Miyala’s initial reaction was excitement, but as the reef neared, she could see its bleached bones. There were no schools of fish, and the color had disappeared. She darted forward. “No. What happened? Is it dead? Can we fix it?”

“No,” he answered finally. “It was your pollution that did this. Your people. This reef was fine for hundreds of years, and then your people came. Now it’s gone.”

Miyala stared down at the dead reef. She drifted closer, her fingers running down the calcium skeletons. Her eyes closed, and she was thankful for the ocean: no one could see her tears.

“This is why you wanted me to come,” she realized. “Because I could advocate on land, maybe stop the pollution.”

“Yes, that’s why the others agreed. Previously, the only ones allowed to join us, even temporarily, were people my siblings were courting.” He put a hand on her shoulder, squeezed it gently. “You’re the first.”

She stared down at the reef and nodded. Right. Somehow she needed to stop the colony from dumping waste into water sources. She would have time to contemplate later, Jesse was already taking off. She sped after him, hurrying until he suddenly zagged, lunging for the silt, and pulling a sand shark out. He kept a firm grip on it, pulling it down and over the edge of the drop off, heading for a cave in the edge of the undersea cliffside. She followed, darting after him as he followed the tunnel before putting a burst of speed and leaping out of the water and into an air pocket.

She landed hard on the smooth rock, worn down by hundreds of landings, and as her feet left the water, the tail disappeared. She stood, spinning around with her mouth agape. The walls were coating in luminescent flora, and the sandy floor was dry and warm.

She turned to ask Jesse how these plants had evolved here in the cave when she was reminded that the merfolk didn’t really do clothes. He gave her a sheepish grin, but shrugged. “If you do join us, you’re going to have to get used to it.”

Her own wet shirt and bra pulled at her, heavy now that they were out of the water. “I assume my, um, shorts and all were ruined when I… transformed?”

He grunted in affirmation, hauling the sand shark over to a fire pit. He pulled a knife out of an alcove on the wall, and began filleting the unfortunate shark. She sat down next to him, perched on a smooth stone as he watched his hands steadily prepare the meat to be cooked.

Her shirt itched as it started to dry, and she sighed. What the hell. She pulled it off, tossing it onto the floor, and shucked off her bra too, sighing in relief.

He didn’t even look over, and she scowled slightly, almost wishing he had.

Looking around the cave, she wasn’t watching when the fire roared into being. She snapped her gaze back, enjoying the heat, but then frowned. “Where is it getting its fuel?”

“We have our own tricks,” Jesse said, smug. “If you join us-.”

“You’ll tell me? You must really want me to join you merfolk.” She hid a smile as her toes traced designs in the sand under her feet.

“I do, actually,” he admitted. He stared into the fire, his mouth twisting into a pensive frown.

“Oh,” she said. Miyala hadn’t thought anyone would want her around.

He raised his eyebrows at her. “I want you around,” he said, striking right at her insecurities.

His hand raised to trace the fading bruises on her left arm, and she lowered her gaze. Jesse sighed, and then he nudged her to stand pulling her over to a small pool on the other side of the firepit. She sat on the lip before dipping her feet in, and the minute her toes touched the water, the sleek grey tail was back. The water was shallow, and he slipped in after her.

“If I got my way, I’d tear him from limb to limb,” Jesse said, finally, pulling her into his side. “A quick death would be a mercy.”

She nodded, a lump in her throat. She leaned into her friend, grateful for the comfort he was willing to provide. He kept an eye on the fire as she pillowed her head on her forearms, already tired from all the swimming.

“Another thing,” he said finally, “We eat large meals and then go a week without eating. It’s easier for us, instead of worrying about ‘three square meals’.” He made airquotes around the last phrase and she laughed.

“I suppose that makes sense.”

He nudged her with his shoulder. “Yeah, but we’re slow after.”

“Hence the cave?”

He nodded. “Hence the cave. Once you’ve been around for a few centuries, you know all the hiding spots.”

She exhaled, shifting uncomfortably on the stone floor of the pool. “Centuries?”

“We don’t age,” he said quietly. “Not once we’re fully grown.”

“Shit,” she muttered, “You’re old.”

He huffed, propping himself higher to get a better look at the cooking meat. “I don’t need this sass. Anyways. Food is done.” She opened her mouth and he pre-empted her. “I can get it for both of us. Lazy.”

“Worn out, I believe is the term you’re looking for,” she replied archly. He snorted, but placed a plate stacked with fillets in front of them. She raised an eyebrow at the ceramic plate

“Shipwreck,” he said innocently. “Occasionally we enjoy the finer things in life.” He settled back in the pool next to her, clearly eager to return to having a tail.

“You couldn’t salvage silverware?” She picked up one of the fillets with her fingers, delicately biting into it.

“Rusts. Ceramics are much easier to salvage. Boiling water gets things clean enough. You landwalkers have weak immune systems, by the way.” He smirked at her, and she rolled her eyes at him, but her mind was wandering.

“I feel like I should be asking you questions about food chains, currents, migrations, whatever.” She took another small bite, and after she swallowed, added, “Some marine biologist I am.”

He moved so he had one hand on her other side, leaning over her, and murmured, “I’m sure I could give you some _hands on_ experience. As part of an… _in depth_ … study.”

Miyala was surprised by how little she was surprised. She looked up at him, and said quietly, “I technically haven’t even broken up with Pong.”

The smirk left his face, his jovial attitude turning somber. He sat up, shifting to sit on the edge of the pool. “Ala. How long has it been since he’s treated you like his girlfriend?”

She stared down at the ground. “You have asked me more about what I love to do, listened to me talk about marine biology and encouraged me more than he has in over two years of dating.” She forced each word out, measured, careful.

It was not the loss of the relationship she mourned, but the loss of her illusion. She had pretended she was happy, had convinced herself. Now, with each look back, she felt more and more like she was looking through a jagged, cracked, warped mirror.

A sob ripped out of her, and she struggled to stop, to force her emotions back under control, her shoulders shaking as she gasped, trying desperately not to cry.

His knuckles ran up and down her spine, comforting. “Cry, Ala. No one thinks any less of you. No one.”

The second sob tore out of her throat, and she began to cry in earnest, sitting up so she could curl into her friend. His arms wrapped around her, and he rested his chin on top of her head. All of her anger at being manipulated, being used, being controlled came tearing out, and as she cried herself out, she felt more balanced than she had in years.

Freer. Lighter. She realized this would be something she would struggle with for years, but this was… a first step. Or not, considering she didn’t even have feet right now.

She pulled back, awkwardly swiping at Jesse’s chest where she had cried on him, attempting to wipe off the snot and tears. He kissed the top of her head, and then pulled himself out of the water so he could dive into the tunnel entrance. He resurfaced less than a minute later, and then resumed his position at her side. “Eat, Ala.”

Between the two of them, there weren't even any scraps left, and she rested on her side, stuffed to the gills. “I don’t feel like moving,” she muttered.

“There’s a much comfier pool in back of the cave.” She groaned, loud and melodramatic, but he stood, and she followed, her movements sluggish and exhausted. The smaller cave, just branching off from the main cavern, was lined with moss, and she hummed happily as she slipped into the other pool, the soft plant matter cushioning her.She curled up on her side, her eyes closing as Jesse slipped an arm around her to tug her back against his chest.

They dozed there, slipping in and out of consciousness as they digested their meal. Miyala’s mind slowly wandered down more scientific roads, wondering how her new body was able to eat much more than her normal one could in a week, wondering how the food was being processed, but for the most part, she dreamt.

Eventually, the haze lifted, and she propped herself up to look around, careful not to dislodge Jesse’s tight grip on her waist, or wake him up. She gazed around the cave, watching the bioluminescent moss, watching the vines glow and darken in a repeated pattern.

It was beautiful.

Jesse groaned, waking, and she craned her neck to look behind her. He sat up, pressing a sloppy kiss to her shoulder, his eyes fluttering closed as he slumped against her.

“We’re gonna have to go,” he muttered, making no move to get up.

Miyala pushed herself over, lying on her back as she tried to prop her head and shoulder up leaning on her elbows, and he flopped on top of her, his chin resting on her collar bones. His eyes closed, and she let herself fall backwards so she was flat on the mossy floor. His eyes opened as he lazily smiled at her, pushing himself up so he could look down at her.

Jesse bent down, kissing her forehead, a chaste, neat kiss, and her eyes fluttered shut. His lips lingered, but he then pulled away. “We’ll reach the labs today,” he said. He stood, and she shook herself, grudgingly getting up to follow.

“We never actually talked,” she said quietly, halting in the entrance to the cave they had slept in.

He paused. “No, I suppose we didn’t.” He turned back to her, padding over. Jesse stopped in front of her, one hand settling on her waist, and another on her cheek. “There is something,” he said, “Between us. If… If you give your permission, I'd like to court you. Officially.”

It was a bad idea to go from one relationship into another, she knew that. “We go slow,” she whispered.

“Done,” he answered. “I’ll be a perfect gentle-mer.” He leaned down to kiss her cheek, and stepped back, unable to hide his grin. “To the labs, then?”

* * *

 

She hauled herself up from the jagged metal, hissing as a piece gouged her thigh. “It’s not deep,” she assured Jesse, and she looked around at the hidden facility. He sat anxiously on an old metal desk, his gaze flicking all over the dark facility.

She weaved between the desks, stopping at a terminal. She poked at it experimentally, and gasped when it lit up. “Hey, it still works.”

He didn’t say anything, and she started reading through the lab notes, becoming progressively more and more ill. A couple notes in the margins made her slam the power button, and she puked. She tripped backwards. “That. No. Tell me they didn’t.” She shoved herself backwards, trying to get away, and she made it to her feet, whirling to stare at Jesse, who just looked unbearably sad.

She made her way over to him. “This… These… atrocities. They will never reach the light of day. This was monstrous.”

He closed his eyes, and she reached up to his cheek, mimicking the gesture he had so often used on her. He then leaned into her shoulder, pulling her close. “I’ve had centuries to put it behind me,” he started quietly.

She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, standing on her toes to reach.”It shouldn’t have happened.”

“No,” he said. “No, it shouldn’t have.” He pulls back, settling his hands on her lips. “Do you understand why we destroyed Tipoca?”

“Yes,” she said fervently,  “Yes. I would have helped.”

He blinked slowly, studying her. “Good,” he said. “Now you know why it was destroyed.” He stood, ushering her towards the hole in the floor they had entered in. They dove back into the water, swimming back to the cave. “We’ll spend the night here and then the next night in the kelp forests and then you’ll be on your way,” he said, avoiding her eyes as he settled into the mossy cave.

She curled into his chest before replying, “I don’t know if I’ll want to go.” She closed her eyes, making herself comfortable.

“That was the plan,” he replied, feigning jovial ease.

“There are laws though,” she starts, “That protect newly found sentient species. I can apply to the Senate, and force this colony to stop polluting, to stop building in the ocean. As a marine biologist, ‘discovering an aquatic species’...”

“Your word carries weight,” he summed up after she trailed off.

“I’ll have to go to Coruscant,” she said absently. She opened her eyes, looking up at him. “I’ll make it happen, though.” She sat up, trying to find the words. “You said… that I was allowed into the oceans because you all thought I could… help. I won’t let you down.”

* * *

 

She was gone for months. She had said her goodbyes, made her promises, and hidden from her ex. The colony was leaving, but the Republic had asked her to ask the merfolk if they could set up a small outpost, one that could support a small embassy.

She packed her bags in her speeder, taking a deep breath as she headed out to the outcropping. She made her way down the cliff face, kneeling on the edge of the rock. She knew better than to enter the seas uninvited, so she settled down, leaning against one of her bags, book in hand. She lazily soaked up the warmth, and then: footsteps.

She jerked, up, hoping it was Jesse, whom she had missed dearly over the past few months. Miyala scrambled to sit up, turning, and then she froze.

“Pong,” she said quietly. Fear latched onto her vocal cords, making it nearly impossible for her to talk. She started to scoot backwards, but one of her hands slipped off the rock and into open air, and she darted a glance over her shoulder down at the ocean behind her. Her chest tightened and the world narrowed as her ex stalked towards her. “You’ve had your fun,” he snarled, “But now you’re coming back.”

“No,” she said.

Pong reared back, fury shadowed in every moment. “What do you mean, no?”

“I said no,” Miyala said, standing up. She had just faced down the Senate. She had seen the Kraken. She had swum with merfolk. Her ex had no power over her. Miyala’s fists clenched.

He grabbed her right arm, hauling her back towards him, and she struggled. She fought. She twisted, and he slipped on the wet stone. She slammed her shoulder into him as he fell, and he fell right on the edge, and then tumbled into the ocean.

He disappeared into the water, and then three tails broke the surface and disappeared into the water. The ocean turned red, and she backpedalled from the edge, breathing deeply. Slowly, the blood dissipated, and it looked like nothing had happened.

A splash, and Jesse was lounging on the rock next to her, smirking and looking incredibly pleased with himself. She scrambled over to him, embracing him. “Missed you,” she said plaintively. His arms tightened around her.

“And I missed you,” he replied gruffly. He flopped backwards, awkward on land, until he dived into the ocean, surfacing to grin at her. “You coming?”

She scooted to the edge of the outcrop, and moved to jump in when she paused. She stood up, taking her clothes off, and shoving them into a crevice in the cliff face before jumping in. “That bra was 40 credits,” she informed him. “I’m not ruining it.”

He rolled his eyes, but then he studied her, his arms wrapping around her waist to hold her up in the water. “Are you alright?”

She dropped the smile, leaning into Jesse’s chest, her shoulders beginning to shake. She had been terrified. Her arm hurt. She didn’t like being reminded the carnage Jesse was capable of, not when he had been all gentle embraces and tender caresses with her before.

Eventually, she got herself under control, leaning back to say something, but no words came out.

The look he gave her was tender and soft and sad and loving, and it nearly took her breath away. “Are you ready?” His voice was quiet, hesitant.

She nodded, taking a deep breath, and he pulled her underwater, wrapping his fins around her legs and kissing her. The change hurt, and once again, she blacked out.

When she woke, she was expecting the long sleek tail of a basilosaurus, but this time, her tail was red, covered in spines and with two long spined fins jutting off from each side. She swept her tail side from side experimentally, knowing she was only used to the up and down typical to marine mammals.

Once she adjusted, she followed Jesse, both of them drifting slowly through the shallows along the cliffside. Shoals of fish darted around them, as Jesse made his way over to another cave entrance. This entrance was much smaller, but the sides were smooth, as if scales had worn them down.

There wasn’t a lot of room to maneuver, but eventually she hauled herself onto a cave floor that was… surprisingly well decorated. It looked like a house that belonged to a land dweller, but with a convenient basement and cave system underneath it. She spun around, her feet bunching in one of the fluffy rugs strewn around the room.

In a corner of the room, there was a massive nest of pillows and blankets, and he directed her over there with a hand on her waist. “The changing only takes a few minutes,” he began, curling around her. “It’s not comfortable. And some of the changes are gradual, happening over years, like better senses or electroreception or better immune systems or dietary changes.”

“And how does it happen?” She was facing him, curled under a warm blanket, so she could see him grimace.

“Venom?” He grinned at her, but it was more a baring of teeth, a reminder of the enlarged canines the merfolk had.

She shivered, but only said, “Is there a specific spot?”

He nodded, sitting back up, and pushing down on her shoulder so she was lying flat on her stomach. He straddled her waist, his hands running down her sides, comforting her. “I’ve got you,” he said quietly. “You’re going to be fine.” And then his teeth sank into the back of her neck, right where her neck became her shoulder.

The pain was excruciating, but less so than the temporary one, as her senses shifted, and she gained access to the well of powers the merfolk had in truth. It felt like the world came into greater clarity, and she looked around, still dazed. He was still straddling her, sitting on her thighs and keeping her from flailing.

She twisted, holding herself up and finding some new flexibility in her spine, and at her more lucid movements, he slipped off her to sit by her side. “You’re one of us now,” he said, a dark satisfaction in his eyes.

She smiled at him, and then looked down at her legs, concentrating. The world seemed to blur, and then the long tail of a basilosaurus was there. She waved her flukes in the air, and then concentrating again, returned to having legs. She laughed, delighted, and she threw her arms around Jesse. He flopped over, pulling her with him so he was on his back.

“You’ve had a big day,” he said, finally.

“There are parts im trying not to think about. But- the colony is being recalled. The Republic wants to leave a small embassy here, but that’s it. I…. I did stand up to him. I’ve got a tail now.” She nodded to herself. “I’m… I’m okay.” She leaned forward and kissed him, slipping her tongue into his mouth.

He let her take the lead for a bit, two exchanging kisses that grew more and more heated, until he wrapped arms around her, and moved so they were on their sides.She broke the kiss to flip herself so her back was to his chest, and he propped himself up on his side with one arm as the other slid over to her inner thigh.

His thumb ran in gentle strokes over her skin as he dragged his lips from hers to suck marks into her jaw, and then over her lekku. She moaned, and used her own hands to drag the one he hand on her thigh to her core.

He slipped a finger inside her as his thumb played with her clit, and her hips jerked forward. He chuckled darkly, and then ran his tongue over the bite mark on her neck. A burst of pleasure wracked her body, and the unexpectedness of it mixed with his finger crooking inside her and the gentle press of his thumb on her clit sent her wailing over the edge, shouting his name as she shook to pieces.

When her vision cleared and her toes uncurled, he was shifting closer to her, the blunt head of his cock nudging her dripping entrance. “Please,” she whispered, her voice cracking. He obliged, sliding into her, the sheer amount of slick between her thighs making it all too easy.

She stretched around him, his cock large enough that she could feel every inch of him where he was snug against her walls. The hand that had been inside her held up her thigh, spreading her wider so he could get even deeper within her. Finally, he began to move, languid deep strokes that had him nearly pulling out of her completely before pushing back in. Her right arm snaked down to play with her own clit as he held her legs open to take her from behind.

It was just the right pace to keep her at the edge, but even with her own fingers on her clit, she wasn’t able to tip over that cliff.

“Please,” she begged again, “Let me come, Let me, please.” She flet him grin against the skin of her lekku, and then he changed back to shallow but swift jerks of his hips, his mouth moving down to the bite mark to kiss it gently.

It was enough, and she saw stars. Her back arched against him as he fucked her through her orgasm, but as she came back to herself, he pulled out. “On your knees, Ala.”

Her limbs were still shaking, but she propped herself up on all fours. His chest brushed her back as he used his hands to push her thighs wider, making it easier for him to enter her again. She was expecting the slower strokes from the first time or the sharp quick ones of just previous.

She was not expecting him to fuck her, hard, her body moving forward every time his hips met hers, with aggressive fast strokes. She pushed back, and he straightened, using his hands to pull her harder onto his dick. Normally, she wouldn’t come from penetration alone, but it took both her hands to keep herself steady, and she was still sensitive from her last two orgasm. She was already close, her walls starting to ripple around him. “Can I- Can I come inside you?” The question was posed between grunts: Jesse was not a quiet lover in any sense of the word.

She gasped out an affirmative, and he slipped a hand under her, finding her clit as he fucked her even harder.She clenched around him as she orgasmed again, and the sound of her crying out his name set him off, his hips stuttering against hers.

Her arms gave out, and she slumped to the floor as he pulled his softening cock out of her. She flipped herself over, lying on her back as she gave Jesse an exhausted grin. He settled on side side next to her, pressing a gentle kiss to her brow.

“That was exceedingly gentle for someone who just fucked me into the… floor? Mess of pillows?” She was still catching her breath, and her words were faint.

He raised a brow at her, and then, keeping his eyes on her, pressed even gentler kisses to her cheek and shoulder, wherever he could reach without moving.

She giggled, and he smiled, a hint of smugness in his eyes. “Happy to be here?”

She laughed again, and then groaned, her left arm flopping over her eyes. “Fucking delighted.” She propped herself up, pushing at his shoulder until he rolled onto his back, where she leaned over him, pressing her own kisses all over him.

She pressed a final, longer kiss to his lips and then pulled back, smiling down at Jesse.

“So,” he said, smirking, “I assume you’re going to want a waterproof holocam and waterproof datapads so you can do your marine biology categorizing thing? We’ve never actually bothered trying to figure out migration patterns, symbiotic relationships, food chains and all that before.”

She nearly whimpered.

He saw the expression on her face and laughed. “I’ll help. You want to go ecosystem by ecosystem?”

“It’s going to take decades to even make a dent,” she whispered reverently.

He snorted. “That’s true. But if you collect footage and give it to some students with your notes? Make things quicker.”

She stared at him, her mouth gaping. Encouraging her research, coming up with ways to help? Valuing her interests? She grinned even as she felt her eyes tear up.

Panic flashed in his eyes, “Or you could do your research yourself if you didn’t want to give it up, I was just thinking you could get more studying done-.” He stopped talking as she grabbed him in a hug, her arms tightening around him.

It had been so very long since she had felt like her interests were respected. Like they had been accepted as part of her. She supposed if anyone would understand her love of the oceans, it would be someone with the very seas in their veins. “I love you,” she murmured.

He stiffened and she thought perhaps she had spoken too soon, but she met his eyes and saw only wondrous surprise. Delight, as that processed. He swallowed. “Ala... I have loved you since you first appeared on that outcropping.”

They exchanged soft, delighted smiles, and her pulled her down to kiss her once more. “Time to swim?”

She mock groaned, but stood, slipping into the water where her legs became a long red tail, and powered herself into the ocean, Jesse right behind her. They spun and twirled in the ocean, occasionally leaping out of the water with massive strokes of their tails. Miyala laughed, wild and free.

The ocean was where she was meant to be.

 


End file.
